Sling back sandal



Oct. 29, 1968 H. B. GEssNER 3,407,517

SLING BACK SANDAL Filed July 27, 1967 5 mmvroa ,K HAROLD B. GESSNER BYi ATTORNEY l United States Patent O 3,407,517 SLING BACK SANDAL Harold B. Gessner, 880 th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10021 Filed July 27, 1967, Ser. No. 656,537 4 Claims. (Cl. 36-1L5) ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to the art of footwear and more particularly to a sling back sandal which incorporates a back strap that is self-adjustable to the foot of the wearer by reason of its resilient connection to the vamp of the shoe.

As conducive to an understanding of .the invention it is noted that where sling back sandals employ a buckle to connect the free end of the back strap to the vamp of t-he shoe, in many cases when the buckle is adjusted, the back strap is either too tight or too loose so that the sandal does not fit comfortably. Furthermore, even if the buckle is initially adjusted so that the back strap fits comfortably, due to flexure of the shoe resulting from walking movement, the relatively unyielding back strap will rub against the heel of the wearer causing discomfort. Furthermore, stretching of the back strap may occur with continued use causing it to loosen so t-hat the sandal no longer lits the wearer comfortably.

It is accordingly among .the objects of the invention to provide a sling back sandal which may readily be formed and which may be put on by the wearer with assurance of a snug, comfortable lit without need for any mechanical adjustment by the wearer and which will continue to provide such comfortable t regardless of stretching of the back strap.

According to the invention, these objects are accomplished by the arangement and combination of elements hereinafter described and more particularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention.

FIG. l is a perspective view of the sandal;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a detail side elevational view taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is adetail sectional view on a greatly enlarged scale showing the back strap under tension.

Referring now to the drawings, the sandal comprises a sole member 11 which may be of any conventional type and which illustratively has a resilient undersurface 12 of natural or synthetic rubber or suitable plastic and a sock lining or cover 13, secured thereto in any conventional manner.

Secured to the sole member 11 and rearwardly spaced a short distance from the toe end 14 thereof is a transverse strap 15 forming a loop through which the toes of the wearer may extend.

A second transverse strap 16 illustratively formed from two plies 16a, 16b stitched together at at 16 is also secured to the sole member 11 rearwardly of the strap 15 and substantially transversely aligned with the center portion of the sole member 11. The transverse strap 16 also defines a loop to accommodate the instep of the wearer and forms the vamp of the shoe, said strap 16 having a central forwardly protruding portion 17 which is stitched to the adjacent edge portion of strap 15.

Although the straps 15 and 16 may be of any suitable material, they illustratively are of leather or plastic.

Secured to the rear edge 18 of strap 16 adjacent one end 20 thereof is one end 19 of a back strap 21 also illustratively of leather or plastic which extends rearwardly as shown. The back strap 21 is illustratively formed of two plies 21a and 2lb that are stitched together as at 22 at their upper and lower edges. The end 19 of the back strap 21 is spread apart so as to straddle the edge portion 18 of strap 16 as shown in FIG. 2 and such spread apart portions are secured to the edge portion 18 las by stitching at 23.

Secured to the strap 16 adjacent the other end 24 thereof is a retaining strap 25 which is of length much shorter than that of the back strap and is formed of two plies 25a and 25b, t-he inner ply 25b illustratively being a continuation of the inner ply 16b of the strap 16 as shown in FIG. 4.

The end 26 of the outer ply 25a is secured to the strap 16 as by stitching at 27. The free ends 28 of the plies 25a, 25b, straddle and are secured as by stitching as at 29 to one end 31 of a length of elastic .tape 32. The inner ply 2lb of the back strap 21 is transversely slit as at 33 (FIG. 4) to define a recess 34 to accommodate the end 35 of the elastic tape 32 which is then securely stitched in position as at 36. As shown, the free end portion 21c of the back strap extends longitudinally beyond the elastic tape 32 and is positioned outwardly thereof so as to conceal the elastic tape 32.

A loop 37 is secured as by a rivet 38 to the short strap 25 and provides a retaining means for the free end of the back strap which extends through said loop.

With the construction above described, it is apparent that, referring to FIG. 3, the elastic tape is concealed at all times. When the wearer wishes to put on the sandal, he merely need insert his -foot through the straps 16 and 17 and pull backwardly on the back strap until it extends to the rear of the heel of the wearer, this operation stretching the elastic tape 32. Upon release of the back strap, the tension of the stressed resilient tape will cause the back strap to move inwardly, the free end portion 21a` of the back strap sliding through the loop 37.

With the construction above described, since the sandal is of a size that the wearer requirers, when the wearers foot is positioned through the straps 15 and 16, 'with the back strap in position to the rear of the heel and reacting thereagainst, the resilient tape 32. will be under slight tension, thereby dependably retaining the sandal in secure yet comfortable position on the foot of the wearer yet yielding sufficiently to prevent uncomfortable rubbing action against the heel of the wearer due of flexure of the sandal in use. 'In the event of any slight stretching of the back strap due to exure from walking movement of the wearer, the resilient tape 32 will rea-dily accommodate such stretching and movement while still retaining the sandal in secure position on the Wearers foot.

With the construction above described, the free end of the back strap completely overlies the elastic tape so that there is no unsightly appearance and there is no need for any adjustable buckles with the resultant inconveniences caused thereby.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently Widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A sandal having a sole member, supporting means secured to said sole member to accommodate the foot of the wearer and aback strap to encircle the 'heel'of the wearer, said back strap comprising an elongated member secured at one end to the foot supporting means and extending rearwardly thereof, a resilient member secured at one end to the foot supporting means on the side thereof opposed to the side to lwhich the back strap is secured, the other end of said resilient member being secured to said back strap at a point rearwardly spaced from the free end thereof, said free end of the back strap overlying said resilient member.

`2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which a strap member is provided of length shorter than that of the Eback strap, said strap member being secured at one end to the foot supporting means on the side thereof transversely opposed to the side to which the back strap is secured and said resilient member comprising an elastic tape having one end secured to the free end of said strap mem-ber.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which a loop is secured to said strap member adjacent the free end thereof, the free end of said back strap extending through said loop.

Y 4. Thg'combination set `forth`V- in claim 1 in which said supporting means comprises a strap extending transversely across the sole member and defining a vamp, said back strap having at least a pair of juxtaposed plies, said plies being secured to each other, the plies at one end of said back strap straddling said transverse strap, means securing the straddling portions of the back strap to said transverse strap, the innermost ply having a slit therethrough adjacent the free end of the back strap and dening a recess, said resilient member comprising an elastic tape having one end positioned in said recess and means securing said elastic tape end in said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,136,084 11/1938 Perugia "S6- 11.5 2,177,571 10/1939 Kirke 36--11.5 2,481,182 9/1949 Bender 36-11.5

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

